An Example of a College Essay About Leadership

Many people have tried to understand and define the concept and practice of leadership, but to no avail. What is it to be a leader? Must one lead their soldiers into battle or wear an overly decorated outfit proclaiming them to be better then there followers to be considered a leader? Must one have the words “Captain” blazed upon their forehead in order to receive respect? There is more to being a leader then having a fancy title and outside recognition. A leader only needs to know that his troops respect him and will support him.

My experience with unacknowledged leadership came in the spring of my junior year. I was on the varsity baseball team for my high school. We started the season with high hopes for a better season then the previous year. The last season had been a disappointment because of our sub-par record and the retiring of our long time head coach. Our team this year was host to eight returning seniors and we felt that their experience and leadership would lead us to a better season. Morale was high entering into the season and we couldn’t wait to play. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before things started going wrong.

Within the first couple of weeks of season, the team was already facing a crisis. A returning senior who had started last year and had been appointed a captain this year was displeased that he was no longer starting. Before our first league game, he had quit and abandoned the team that he had made a commitment to. With him went two more seniors who were angry at the coach for not starting their friend. Without even playing a game we had lost some of our seniors. The team was in turmoil as we continued to lose the seniors from our team. Some left because of displeasure with the coach, others were forced off by substandard grades, and one was kicked off for criminal reasons. Midway through the season we were left with only three of the nine seniors we had started with.

It was at the moment when a good friend of mine, whom I had played baseball with all my life, came to me about maybe quitting the team that I had seen enough. I called together a player’s meeting before practice one Saturday and told my teammates the choices before them. I told them we could all go home and quit the game that we love and have played all our lives or we could stick together as a unit and a team and finish out the season knowing that we played our hearts out and did everything in our power to become successful. The response was almost immediate and from that point on we lost no more players for any reason. The season was not without difficulties, but we all took pride in knowing that we honored the commitments we had made and stuck by our teammates through it all.

Looking back, I am extremely proud that I was able to keep the team together because not only did it strengthen the bonds of our team, but we have come back this year much stronger. If I had allowed the team to disband my junior year, the chances are extremely high that many people wouldn’t have come back for this season. This year we have a whole new coaching staff and an even better outlook. We have already won quadruple the amount of games we did last year only four weeks into the season. I am glad that I was able to keep a group of friends and teammates together, but also that my efforts have made my school once again competitive during baseball season.